LeBron posts oldest triple-double, taking Malone's record

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Deep in the 23rd season of the longest career in NBA history, LeBron James is still dropping triple-doubles — on the Dallas Mavericks and on Father Time.

James became the oldest player to have a triple-double Thursday night, accomplishing the feat at 41 years and 44 days old during the Los Angeles Lakers’ 124-104 victory over the Mavs.

James had 28 points and 12 assists when he grabbed his 10th rebound with 2:06 to play. He got a standing ovation from the Lakers’ crowd when he checked out moments later with his 123rd career triple-double, the fifth-most in NBA history.

James broke the record held for the past 22 years by Karl Malone, who recorded his final triple-double for the Lakers when he was 40 years and 127 days old.

“I guess I’m more appreciative of moments like this in my career, understanding where I’m at, at the later stage of my journey,” James said. “You definitely take it in a little bit more.”

While mere statistics and longevity records don’t do much for James at this stage in his historic career, he respects triple-doubles as a particularly good measure of the high level he is maintaining on the court.

Although he has missed 18 games this season due to injury, James was no charity case when he was chosen for his 22nd All-Star Game this weekend, and he proved it by dominating the Mavs while Luka Doncic was out with a hamstring strain.

“I think what it represents is pretty cool — the fact that you can go out and have an impact in three facets of the game,” James said. “Rebounding. The assists, obviously, are what I love the most. Being able to get my guys involved, throughout my career I’ve always loved that more than anything. And being able to put the ball in the basket, that’s part of this game as well. So I think what it means, to be able to have your hand in three facets of the game, making an impact in those three, that’s pretty cool.”

James’ play has remained largely outstanding when healthy this season, and he repeated his belief that he could continue almost indefinitely at this level. James entered this game averaging 21.8 points, 6.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds, and the Lakers are in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race despite playing only 10 games with James, Doncic and Austin Reaves simultaneously healthy.

But the top scorer in NBA history hadn’t had a triple-double since Feb. 1, 2025, in New York. That day is better remembered for the late-night breaking news of the seismic trade that brought Doncic to the Lakers.

Malone had held the record as the oldest player with a triple-double since he had 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists on Nov. 28, 2003, during his final NBA season. James recorded the next 15 triple-doubles on that list, and he repeatedly came close to setting the record over the past year, but didn’t quite reach it until the Lakers’ final game before the All-Star break.

With Doncic out when his former team visited, James was aggressive and active from the opening tip as he returned from his own injury absence during the Lakers’ loss to San Antonio on Tuesday.

After dancing gleefully in pregame warmups and screaming his way down the tunnel when he took the court, James put up 14 points and six assists in the first quarter alone against Dallas. He factored into the Lakers’ first 23 points of the game.

James had 18 points, eight assists and four rebounds by halftime. He topped double digits in assists during the third quarter, but he didn’t come out of the game during the fourth quarter before he grabbed the three rebounds necessary to get the triple-double.

He almost had it a few possessions earlier, but Reaves beat him to a board — and got an earful from the rest of the Lakers.

“Everybody on the team yelled at me,” Reaves said. “I don’t catch myself looking at the stats during the game, so we went to the bench and everybody let me know about it. He didn’t, but everybody (else), and I looked at him and said, ‘Shoot, my fault.’”

After his streak of 20 straight All-Star Game appearances ended due to injury last year, James will be back in the midseason showcase Sunday at Intuit Dome. James is ineligible for inclusion on his 22nd All-NBA team this season because of his missed games, including the first 14 of the season while dealing with sciatica.

James has 152 career triple-doubles when the playoffs are included.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA